A. PHILIP RANDOLPH: FOR JOBS AND FREEDOM takes viewers on a tour of 20th-century civil rights and labor history as it chronicles Randolph's legendary efforts to build a more equitable society. Ask most people who led the 1963 March on Washington and they'll probably tell you Martin Luther King, Jr. But the real force behind the event was the man many call the pre-eminent black labor leader of the century and the father of the modern civil rights movement: A. Philip Randolph.
THE ROAD TO BROWN tells the story of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling as the culmination of a brilliant legal assault on segregation that launched the Civil Rights movement. It is also a moving and long overdue tribute to a visionary but little known black lawyer, Charles Hamilton Houston, "the man who killed Jim Crow." Charles Houston, the first black editor of the Harvard Law Review, dean of Howard University Law School and chief counsel to the NAACP, launched a number of precedent-setting cases leading up to Brown v. Board of Education. He strategically targeted segregated education as the key to undermining the entire Jim Crow system.
BLACKS WITHOUT BORDERS: CHASING THE AMERICAN DREAM IN SOUTH AFRICA. Blacks Without Borders is an emotional story of hardship, sacrifice and great rewards. It plunges into the lives of a group of African Americans who went to South Africa to find the American dream. These modern day globetrotters discovered that America is not the only land of opportunity and boundaries that many of them faced in the United States don’t exist in South Africa. This film captures the wonderful lifestyle South Africa has to offer and features these ex-pats amazing homes. From an 11,000 sq.ft. house with its own helipad and overlooks the Indian Ocean to a 33,000 sq.ft. mansion that sits on 700 acres. This film is funny, heartwarming and passionate. It will take you by surprise and leave you deeply moved.
RALPH BUNCHE: AN AMERICAN ODYSSEY
Miss HIV
FREEDOM ON MY MIND
FAUBOURG TREME: THE UNTOLD STORY OF BLACK NEW ORLEANS
IDA B. WELLS: A PASSION FOR JUSTICE
COLOR ADJUSTMENT traces 40 years of race relations through the lens of prime time entertainment, scrutinizing television's racial myths and stereotypes. Narrated by Ruby Dee, the 88 minute documentary allows viewers to revisit some of television's most popular stars and shows, among them Amos and Andy, The Nat King Cole Show, I Spy, Julia, Good Times, Roots, Frank's Place andThe Cosby Show. But this time around, Riggs asks us to look at these familiar favorites in a new way. The result is a stunning examination of the interplay between America's racial consciousness and network primetime programming.
LOCKDOWN, USA is a feature documentary set on the front lines of the dramatic campaign to end the “War on Drugs” and repeal the Rockefeller Drug Laws. The film follows Wanda Best, whose husband was sentenced 15 years to life, as a first time non-violent drug offender. She is now raising five children on her own. The documentary will interweave the story of the Best family with a behind the scenes look at Hip Hop Impresario, Russell Simmons’ colorful, unorthodox campaign to reform the Drug Laws. In 1973, New York State enacted the Rockefeller Drug Laws, which are the harshest drug control measures ever passed in any democratic nation. President Reagan declared the National “War on Drugs” in 1982 and cited The Rockefeller Laws as the model for new drug regulations. By 1983, 48 states had passed drug control measures based on the Rockefeller Drug Laws. These laws have resulted in the US prison population quadrupling and prisons becoming a thriving, profitable industry.Our New Season Is Here!
This season's focus is African-American Perspectives.
We will take you on a monthly journey,
giving you an indepth view of ten different African American perspectives.
FREE ADMISSION!
We are also happy to announce that all screenings are FREE ADMISSION.
They always have been, but we thought we'd start advertising it as such.
We will, however, continue to ask for donations to help us
with the cost of presenting our Documentary Film Series.
( RSVP NOW)
NEW VENUE!
Our screenings will now be held at the historic Countee Cullen Library, located at 104 W. 136th Street.
The Countee Cullen Branch opened on January 14, 1905, as the 135th Street Branch, in a building designed by McKim, Mead and White with funds given by Andrew Carnegie. (The original building is now part of The New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.) In 1941, having outgrown its quarters, the library moved to a new building at its present location designed by Louis Allen Abramson. Ten years later the library was renamed for poet and teacher Countee Cullen (1903-1946), an important figure of the Harlem Renaissance and the library's friend and neighbor. The library occupies the former site of the mansion of A'lelia Walker, daughter of the beauty products tycoon whose home became a gathering place for artists and writers during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s. The library was renovated in 1990 and is wheelchair accessible.
(CLICK HERE FOR THE MAP & DIRECTIONS)
DELICIOUS REFRESHMENTS!
As usual, we will continue to provide you with a delicious 'mini-meal' provided by Chef Michael E. Hodge of Kai & I, Inc. Previous menus have included vegetarian chili and fixings, lasagna, pasta salads, and quiche. Offered beverages are soda, juice and water. We'll do our best to send out menus prior to each screening so you can decide if you would like to enjoy our menu offerings. (CLICK HERE FOR MENU INFORMATION)
